Recent statewide statistics illustrate what anyone who has ever driven through the Antigo flats already knows—ag jobs are big in Wisconsin.

From the big dairy operations operated by Nagels, Malys, Schroepfers and others, to the major potato-growing operations that Schroeder Bros., Matteks, Baginskis and more, the region is a hub of farming activity that contributes to the state’s—and nation’s—economic health.

According to the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, the Antigo-based trade group representing farm interests, one out of every 10 jobs in Wisconsin, and 14.2 percent of all jobs in nearly half the counties in the state, are agriculture-related.

“People just don’t realize that the whole agricultural community in Wisconsin is a nearly $60 billion industry that adds more than 350,000 jobs to our workforce,” Duane Maatz, the association’s executive director, said, “And it’s not just rural areas. In Milwaukee County alone, agriculture contributes $6 billion to the county’s economy. Compared to many other industries, these numbers are astronomical.”

According to a study produced by the University of Wisconsin—Madison and the University of Wisconsin— Extension, since 2006, the agriculture community has been relatively stable. Agriculture even provided “a modest statewide cushion against employment problems” during the recession, the study found.

And while most people think “rural” when they think of farming, Maatz said studies show the counties with the largest number of jobs and sales from agriculture are actually those with larger populations and city centers such as Milwaukee, Brown, Dane and Outagamie counties.

“That’s primarily because there are large amounts of food processing activity in those areas,” he said.

Recent statewide statistics illustrate what anyone who has ever driven through the Antigo flats already knows—ag jobs are big in Wisconsin.

From the big dairy operations operated by Nagels, Malys, Schroepfers and others, to the major potato-growing operations that Schroeder Bros., Matteks, Baginskis and more, the region is a hub of farming activity that contributes to the state’s—and nation’s—economic health.

According to the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, the Antigo-based trade group representing farm interests, one out of every 10 jobs in Wisconsin, and 14.2 percent of all jobs in nearly half the counties in the state, are agriculture-related.

“People just don’t realize that the whole agricultural community in Wisconsin is a nearly $60 billion industry that adds more than 350,000 jobs to our workforce,” Duane Maatz, the association’s executive director, said, “And it’s not just rural areas. In Milwaukee County alone, agriculture contributes $6 billion to the county’s economy. Compared to many other industries, these numbers are astronomical.”

According to a study produced by the University of Wisconsin—Madison and the University of Wisconsin— Extension, since 2006, the agriculture community has been relatively stable. Agriculture even provided “a modest statewide cushion against employment problems” during the recession, the study found.

And while most people think “rural” when they think of farming, Maatz said studies show the counties with the largest number of jobs and sales from agriculture are actually those with larger populations and city centers such as Milwaukee, Brown, Dane and Outagamie counties.

“That’s primarily because there are large amounts of food processing activity in those areas,” he said.